


oh how the turns have tabled!

by alexofmacedonia



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Post Season 2 Finale, it's one we all wanted post 2x35, the character death warning isn't really a bad one tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 06:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4949605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexofmacedonia/pseuds/alexofmacedonia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Theo gets himself lost in the woods after Vordie dies, and finds himself in the library... where Laura and Carmilla are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	oh how the turns have tabled!

It was pitch black in the woods surrounding Silas, but that worked just fine for Theo. He knew the Summers couldn't track him in the dark, and they probably had their hands full with the Corvae men in SWAT gear. Having been Vordenberg's right hand for the past few weeks, he had heard the old man rant enough about how bad it would be if they were allowed to take over.

Killing Lawrence should have been enough to break the spirit of the rebellion; if not, Vordenberg had the vampire in custody, and Theo had watched as he took her inside the resistance's house that same night to execute her in front of the others.

The giant fish was dead, Lawrence was dead, the remaining members of the Board had just been killed, and the vampire was about to die. Every weird, supernatural thing and 'person' had been rounded up and either killed or put in prison, and Theo could taste the victory. Vordenberg Academy, a normal school, was a go and Theo and his Zeta brothers would finally be on top; they had won.

A few minutes later though, Theo had been surprised to see the baron come out of the house without Karnstein's head, shaking until he crumpled into a heap.

There hadn't even a second of silence for the old man's death, no time for confusion or posturing to get ready to finish what he'd started. The Corvae men had swarmed the scene, seemingly out of nowhere, and Theo watched as the dozens of students standing in the quad were immediately gunned down.

Luckily, Theo and a handful of his brothers were standing right next to the woods, and he knew a few of them besides himself had made it to cover.

It wasn't cowardly to flee, he had told himself. He ignored the screams as some of the others were picked off around him, and just kept running.

Now it had been at least two days, and he wasn't sure if anyone else who had escaped was left, because he had been wandering in these stupid woods and all he had seen were trees, trees, and more trees. He had tried marking his path by carving an 'x' into the trees using his knife, but he realized that there was something healing the marks when he passed a very specifically-shaped rock he knew he had seen earlier, and there were no marks anywhere.

That was when he decided to climb a tall pine. He could look at the stars and figure out his position in regards to Silas and the nearest town, and finally be out of these woods and on his way to a normal life. About halfway up, his face and arms were attacked by branches, scratching him with needles, forcing him back to the ground.

 _Fine_ , he didn't need the sky. He began feeling the bark of the tree trunks, wary of low-hanging branches, and found one that had moss on it. He was satisfied to find the moss growing mostly just on one side, and felt the next trunk over to find the same thing. Theo grinned, and began walking in as much of a straight line west as possible, feeling the occasional tree as he went to make sure the moss side was still facing his right, and slightly changing his course if the moss told him he was facing too far north or south.

Sometime around dawn, as the light was beginning to peek through the thick foliage above, Theo felt a prickling along his spine, as if there were eyes watching him. He told himself it was probably just badgers or something, because if it was a Summer or Corvae they would have shot at him already, but it still made him uncomfortable enough to want to find a hiding place. Just until dark, and then he would resume his escape.

That's when he spotted that same funny-shaped rock from hours ago, and had to hold back a scream of frustration and anguish. It was light enough now that he could inspect the tree trunks with just his eyes, and realized that as soon as he looked from one to another, and then looked back, the moss had shifted. He was completely turned around with no sense of direction, and a ball of worry that had been lying in wait in the pit of his stomach began making its way up into his throat. How far away he had actually managed to get from Silas? He couldn't survive on berries and mushrooms forever, and the longer he stayed in the woods, the more likely it was that he'd be found.

Searching around quickly for a nurse log or something else to hide in for the day, he spied a cave entrance just off in the distance. He ran over and peered inside; no wildlife to be seen. Theo checked to make sure his tracks leading to the mouth of the cave were gone, and began walking in.

After a few minutes, the daylight was no longer visible, so Theo pulled his phone out and turned it on to use as a flashlight, mentally patting himself on the back for having conserved its battery before now.

(Really, he had just turned it off days before out of annoyance because the baron wouldn't stop gloating via tweets, and the notification sounds were blowing up his phone, but he still felt proud for having an almost fully-charged phone after being lost in the woods for over two days.)

The cave was much deeper than he thought it would be, and he wondered if it might have another opening near a city or town. He could call his parents, they would wire him money for a hotel, and he would finally have a bed and hot water and food.

Food. _Damn._ He knew should have thought about stuffing more mushrooms and berries in his pockets before coming in here, but he didn't want to leave the cave until nightfall.

Eventually, the echoed sound of dripping water ceased, and the smell of damp earth and rocks changed to something musty. He turned a corner, and a few feet ahead he thought he saw... bookshelves? This didn't feel right.

Theo whipped around to go back, maybe there would be another direction to go, but the corner he had just turned was replaced by an expanse of smooth rock.

He cursed himself for going into the cave; he should have known better than to enter anything in the woods around Silas, but now here he was, in a tunnel deep below the university probably, and if he continued he would probably come out of a building smack in the middle of the Corvae occupation. If he stayed though, he would definitely die of starvation or thirst, and he at least might be able to hide or fight his way out if he continued.

His mind was made up: go forward and possibly die fighting, instead of hiding in the dark and dying a coward.

The bookshelves lined the walls of the tunnel, and with the dim light of his phone he could pick out titles here and there. Some were classic literature, others were non-fiction books about world history or history for specific places and periods, and he even thought he saw a _Boxcar Children_ book or two. Nothing told him which department building this was storage for, though, and that made him even more uneasy.

The sound of his footsteps changed abruptly, and he looked down to see earth seamlessly flow into a wood floor. He held his phone closer to an open section of wall, and could make out wallpaper. He realized he must be in the actual basement now for whatever building this was.

After another couple minutes, the tunnel ended, and he found himself in an open room filled with rows upon rows of more bookshelves. Theo stayed close to the wall and picked his way along the perimeter, keeping an ear out for any signs of people.

This room was connected to another room, and then another and another, and at one point he was able to put his phone back in his pocket because there were overhead lights on, casting shadows between the stacks and setting his nerves even more on edge.

Finally, as he crept around yet another corner into yet another room, he heard voices. It startled him, and as he quickly tried to duck around a bookshelf to hide, he knocked a random stack of books to the floor.

"Did you hear that?" one of the voices hissed.

"Yes. Stay there," murmured another, and Theo held his breath and pressed himself as flat as possible against a bookshelf.

He strained his ears trying to listen for footsteps or anything that would give away the other person's position, but there was just silence.

"You?!" said a voice incredulously.

He looked over to see the vampire, Karnstein. "You!?" he said in a similar tone. This could not be happening. How did the universe hate him so much to have him hiding in the same basement as _her_? He slid his knife out of his belt, and shifted to a defensive stance.

She rushed over to him, swatted away his knife like it was nothing, and moved to hold his arms in a tight grip behind him so fast that he couldn't react. "Seems the library _does_ like us, cupcake, it gave us a present," she called.

The vampire guided him to where the annoying journalist was standing a few rows away. As soon as she saw Theo, her face transformed from an expression of cautious curiosity to one of absolute fury. Clenching a can of Bad Wolf soda in her fist, her eyes flickered between his and Karnstein's.

"Carm, do you know who this is?" Laura said, her voice shaking with rage.

Theo's head was yanked to the side by his hair so the vampire could get a better look at his face. "I recognize him as one of the frat lackeys who guarded me while I was imprisoned, but I'm guessing he has special importance to you, cupcake." She released his hair and inched him closer to the other girl.

Laura remained rooted to her spot, but looked like she wanted to close the distance and tear him to pieces. "That's the bastard who murdered Danny."

They stopped moving, and Karnstein's grip on his wrists tightened so much he thought they might shatter. Theo's brain was working overtime, trying to find a way out of this, but coming up blank.

"This really isn't your lucky day, meathead," Karnstein chuckled in his ear. Louder, she said, "Laura, if you want revenge, he dropped a knife three rows over. I'll hold him for you."

"No, wait, let's talk this over," Theo tried to say, but a cold hand clapped over his mouth to silence him.

"I can't. I hate him for what he did, but..." Laura shook her head. "I can't do it."

Theo's legs almost gave out from under him in relief. His thank yous were muffled by the vampire's hand, but Laura knew what he was trying to say. She glared at him. "Oh no, you murderer, you are not safe."

She stalked over, her face an inch from his and her voice ice cold. " _I_ can't kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't stop the vampire who's holding you from killing you, you worthless scum." She looked at Karnstein. "You need blood, right? Drink him dry now, or break his legs and hold him for multiple meals, I don't care. He's yours." Without another word, Laura turned and walked down the row of shelves, out of sight.

Theo screamed as fangs suddenly punctured the side of his throat.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr - bibecamitchell


End file.
